Christmas - Philosophy for Everyone: Better Than a Lump of Coal

Editor's Introduction (Scott C. Lowe).

Part I: Christmas: In the Beginning.

1. Jesus, Mary and Hume: On the Possibility of the Virgin Birth (Zachary Jurgensen and Jason Southworth).

2. The Virgin Birth: Authentic Christmas Magic (Victor Lyons).

3. Putting the "Yule" Back in "Yuletide" (Todd Preston).

Part II: Is Celebrating Christmas Really a Good Idea?

4. Armed for the War on Christmas (Scott F. Aiken).

5. Christmas Mythologies: Sacred and Secular (Guy Bennett-Hunter).

6. The Significance of Christmas for Liberal Multiculturalism (Mark Mercer).

7. Crummy Commercials and BB Guns: Son-of-a-Bitch Consumerism in a Christmas Classic (Erin Haire and Dustin Nelson).

Part III: Santa: A Deeper Look.

8. The Mind of Santa Claus and the Metaphors He Lives By (William E. Deal and S. Waller).

9. Making a List, Checking It Twice: The Santa Claus Surveillance System (Richard Hancuff and Noreen O'Connor).

10. You'd Better Watch Out… (Will Williams).

11. Santa's Sweatshop: Elf Exploitation for Christmas (Matthew Brophy).

Part IV: The Morality of Christmas.

12. Against the Santa Clause Lie: The Truth We Should Tell Our Children (David Kyle Johnson).

13. Lying to Children about Santa: Why It's Just Not Wrong (Era Gavrielides).

14. Putting Claus Back into Christmas (Steven D. Hales).

15. Scrooge Learns it All in One Night: Happiness and the Virtues of Christmas (Dane Scott).

Part V: Christmas Through Others' Eyes.

16. Holly Jolly Atheists: A Naturalistic Justification for Christmas (Ruth Tallman).

17. Heaven, Hecate and Hallmark: Christmas in Hindsight (Marion G. Mason).

18. Festivus and the Need for Seasonal Absurdity (Caleb Holt).

19. Common Claus: Santa as Cross-Cultural Connection (Cindy Scheopner).

Afterword (Santa Claus).

Notes on Contributors (Santa's Elves).